The artwork of Jennifer Nehrbass pieces together a beautiful hodgepodge of diverse patterns, shapes, symbols, and objectsâcomplete with body parts such as fingers and breasts peaking out from unexpected places. However, her collage-like compositions are actually created through painting! Although the artist does also create equally compelling collages, most of the work below was made by applying oil paint to canvasâcan you tell which is which? Nehrbassâs stunning work flaunts bold backgrounds along with figures that appear to have eyes missing or part of a leg â sometimes they have no body at all. Her style seems to be reminiscent of the work of the surrealists, with uncanny faces and bizarre twists on the human form. She rearranges elements, deconstructing and reconstructing a new space, new beings.
The artistâs talent and skill in photo-realism is taken even farther in her âCameoâ series. These equally as intriguing portraits beautifully capture a variety of women, with each composition containing a hint of an element of strange. In Nehrbassâs piece âTasting Juniper,â the womanâs body is gone, and an animal skull rests over her face. In another, the figure seems frozen, unable to move in an interesting landscape. Make sure to check out the whole series for a deeper look into the wonderfully peculiar and unique mind of the artist.
Earning an MFA from the University of New Mexico, Jennifer Nehrbassâs work has been exhibited in cities such as LA, Portland, and NYC, and around in the world in places like Switzerland and Austria.